National News
Kolkata Airport conducts its first-ever Hand Carriage Export of Gems & Jewellery
Senco Gold Limited, a leading pan-India jewellery retailer with a legacy of more than 85 years and the largest jewellery retail player in Eastern India with 175+showrooms, announced of achieving the historic milestone where in the first-ever hand carriage export from Kolkata International Airport was successfully carried out in the early hours of June 16th, 2025 to grow the export from kolkata, marking a major step forward in enhancing ease of doing business and bolstering India’s role as a global gems and jewellery hub, through the coordinated efforts of Customs authorities, GJEPC, AAI Cargo Logistics and Allied Services Company Ltd. (AAICLAS), and BVC Logistics. The initiative was supported under the leadership of Shivaji H. Dange, IRS, Principal Commissioner of Customs, Kolkata, and Pankaj Parekh, Regional Chairman (Eastern Region), GJEPC.
This maiden export consignment was hand carried as personal baggage by Suvankar Sen –MD & CEO, Senco Gold Limitedwhile travelling to Milan, Italy for an exhibition along with Joita Sen –Director & Head of Marketing & Design, Senco Gold Limited.
Commenting on this auspicious occasion, Suvankar Sen MD & CEO, Senco Gold Limited, said, “Senco Gold Limited is proud to be part of the historical initiative by Kolkata customs and GJEPC Kolkata to start hand carry of jewellery from Kolkata. It will boost exports from Kolkata in a big way.”
Commenting on the same Pankaj Parekh, Chairman, Eastern Region said, “I am delighted to see my dream take concrete shape. This achievement owes itself to the visionary guidance of the Principal Commissioner of Customs, S.H.Dange, IRS and the able execution by Joint Commissioners of Customs, A. Bhardwaj, IRS and S. Mondal, IRS. The tireless efforts of Mr. S. Roy, IRS, DC Customs, Kolkata were equally pivotal. I am deeply grateful to each of them for their unwavering commitment.
India’s appetite for borrowing against gold is reshaping the country’s credit landscape. Outstanding gold-backed loans have surged 128% from a year earlier, crossing Rs.4 lakh crore ($48 billion) for the first time, according to data from the Reserve Bank of India. As of Jan. 31, loans secured by gold jewellery stood at Rs.4,00,517 crore, marking one of the fastest expansions in retail credit in recent years.
The boom in gold loans has helped propel overall non-food bank credit growth to 14.4% year-on-year. Personal loans now account for 34.5% of total bank lending, outpacing other segments and underscoring a broader shift toward consumer-driven credit expansion
Gold loans alone contributed roughly 9% of incremental bank credit during the period. Between January 2024 and January 2026, outstanding gold-backed credit rose by nearly Rs.3.1 lakh crore—an increase of about 338% over two years—more than quadrupling the size of the portfolio.
Two factors are driving the surge. First, gold prices have climbed roughly 152% over the past two years, increasing the collateral value of household holdings. Second, regulatory guidance requiring banks to classify loans secured by gold explicitly as gold loans has sharpened reporting and accelerated balance-sheet growth in the segment.
The trend highlights a distinctive feature of India’s financial system: households’ vast stock of physical gold, long viewed primarily as a store of wealth, is increasingly being mobilized as collateral for formal credit.
While personal lending and credit to nonbank financial companies within the services sector continue to expand rapidly, industrial credit remains uneven. Loans to micro, small and medium enterprises are growing steadily, but borrowing by large corporations has stayed relatively muted.
Since March 21, 2025, banks have added Rs.21.8 lakh crore to their non-food loan books, translating into 12% growth for the financial year to date. Yet it is gold—rather than factories or infrastructure—that is emerging as one of the most dynamic engines of India’s current credit cycle.
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